Today I went for a walk around St-Hubert street in Montreal. I first stopped at LL Lozeau. I wanted to have a look at the Canon Powershot S80. But it was so crowded. I waited around the counter to be served for 10 minutes without even an acknowledgement from a worker to say “I’ll be with you shortly” or something. So I left. Too bad! They won’t get my business then!

I walked by a store and saw the very crowded/unusual/eye-catching store front of Art Kéo International.

I stepped inside. I was positively overwhelmed by the crowded little store. Classical music was playing. It was nice and warm compared to the cold day outside. I started walking around the little store. There were things everywhere… Left, right, wall, floor, ceiling! It was a combination of new things for example candles, cushions, vases, etc. There were as well art pieces like paintings by Keo Kosal, the shop owner. I also saw a lot of recycled things like old metalic objects turned into a nice sculpture. And imported objects from Asia. And the list goes on and on. Everywhere I looked it was like finding a treasure! At the back of the store in a cage little birds were singing. Somewhere in the middle of the store there was the owner at his counter, talking on the phone in an asian language. I smiled at him and he smiled/nodded back. I really enjoyed my visit at the store even if I didn’t buy anything. It felt like a museum a bit. It’s worth a visit!

It’s the end of January, normally the coldest time of the year. So why not have an election. Ah well. Much more sensible is La Fete des Neiges de Montreal. The 24rd Edition of the Fete des Neiges de Montréal will take place over 3 consecutive weekends: January 28 & 29, February 4 & 5, and February 11 & 12, 2006.

It sounds like a lot of fun for young and old alike. As you’ll see on the website, Boule de Neige, the irrefutable king of the celebrations, is busily getting ready for the festivities. He and his many friends are eager to welcome the children and take in the many pleasures of winter.

There is also a serious purpose as exemplified by the many Wellness Ambassadors. They support the Fete des Neiges de Montreal’s endeavors in promoting the overall benefits of outdoor physical activity to their visitors.

You’ll find the full details on the Fete des Neiges website. There are one or too glitches. It does say See you next year and they’ve forgotten to update from 2005 to 2006 but all the dates that count seem to be right. So get your raquettes, skates and sleds ready for fun. The only possible difficulty may be that, with this crazy winter weather we’re now experiencing from time to time, it may be too warm.

No, this is not being issued by the Royal Canadian Mint because of the Federal Election. If you can see a connection, you’re doing better than I am.

The new one-dollar coin, which features the familiar loon in flight along with the official emblem of the Canadian Olympic Team, will serve as a good luck charm for Canadian athletes competing at the 2006 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. The Royal Canadian Mint has provided each member of the Canadian Olympic and Paralympic teams with a Lucky Loonie as their own personal good luck charm.

As a circulation coin, Canadians from coast to coast will have a chance to own a piece of the Canadian Olympic dream. It’s a reminder of the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City where Canadian ice maker Trent Evans embedded a Loonie at centre ice prior to the Games to bring good luck to Canada’s gold medal-winning men’s and women’s hockey teams. Then in 2004, the Royal Canadian Mint created the first Lucky Loonie as a way of passing on its special magic to the Canadian Olympic Team as it departed for the Athens 2004 Summer Olympic Games.

In Montreal, in 24 hours a lot can happen. People die, cars crash, big events take place, the subway shuts down, people run into each other and many other things. Weather-wise, the temperature can easy change by over 10oC. When rain is added to that, this is what you get. It was pretty clean 24 hours earlier. Not that it isn’t in these two photos, but this is a very slippery kind of clean.

Vanguard schools in St-Laurent, Wesmount and Laval
Riverside school board
Eastern Township school board
College Laval

I am seeing a bunch of closings on TQS anf TVA but I don’t recognize any of them, looks like it’s way worse off the island.

Careful out there, there is a lot of water on parts of the Metropolitain.

Marc pointed me to an online list from Radio-Canada.
Now if only they would do that every time there is bad weather.

[update] I like it better when it’s minus 30 outside. Next time I’ll try to keep posting the list of school closings but the moment one of you sees a list on a more “reliable” web page, please send me the link as a comment.

I just came back from a walk to the convenience store where I was pelleted with a mixture of sleet and freezing rain. Strangely enough, I couldn’t help but to feel some anxiety at the sound of the falling sleet and feeling the humidity seeping through my gloves. Like many others who went through the ice storm of 1998, I probably have a mild form of post-traumatic stress disorder.

Getting through those 6 days with young kids, a snake and a new house were definitely not fun. I remember an inch-think sheet of ice flying off a truck on the highway and smashing onto the car in front of me. I remember diving over my daughter as an ice-laden branch fell on us. I remember waking up every hour to put logs in the fireplace. I remember going through the small tunnel at the bottom of highway 13 and plowing into a foot of floodwater. I remember waking up one night to the sound of golf ball size pieces of ice falling from our trees onto the car and the veranda. I remember being willing to sell my soul for a pair of dry gloves.

What I didn’t do is take pictures, something that I will regret to the end of my days.

While as an ex-biker, I am completely in awe of what Lance Armstrong did. After reading his book, I realized that he pretty much defines the word jerk. I can also add Bill Clinton to this definition. Why?

Well the two of them are coming to town on March 7th and it is going to cost more than a cool $1,000 (tax included) to see them. Although if you call Joseph, and say you’re a guest [pdf] of the EMSB you can get a discount. Even with a discount, I didn’t know that teachers made enough to be able to afford things that were that expensive, and how much d’ya wanna bet that Dominic Spiridigliozzi ain’t paying a dime?

Hey Friends,
Our favorite artist-cum-‘criminal’, Roadsworth (a.k.a. Peter Gibson), who was arrested last year and faces 53 accusations of mischief for stencilling Montreal streets is facing his court case this Tuesday, January 17th at 9:30 AM at the Montreal Municipal Courthouse (775 Gosford Street, Rm. 1.90 Metro Champs-de-Mars). Anybody who doesn’t know his work, will recognize it when you see it. Check out here.

It would be great if you could come out and show some courtroom solidarity, as the charges he faces for making art in our city streets could have serious penalties. Come have a coffee and hear the proceeding for as long or as little as you can spare on Tuesday morning. Having a full house can make an impact on the judge. Why not remind the lawyers and judges that the community is watching, and that we believe that art that might transgress the norm is a freedom to be protected.

Photos

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